Looking for a Return of the River walkthrough for God of War Ragnarok? Return of the River is a Favour, which are Ragnarok's equivalent of side-quests. As part of our God of War Ragnarok guide, we're going to share our full Return of the River walkthrough, which includes puzzle solutions, combat strategies, and any other key areas of interest.

God of War Ragnarok: Return of the River Walkthrough

Before you can properly pursue Return of the River, you're going to need to find an area known as The Jungle. If you've not discovered it yet, the easiest way to get there is by travelling to the Mystic Gateway named the Western Plains in The Crater in Vanaheim, and interacting with the Celestial Altar to make it night. From this location travel south, to a temple-like area, which will trigger Mimir to recall the river that used to run in the area. Kill the enemies protecting the temple, and beware of the exploding plants inside. Shimmy across the wall and collect Kvasir's Poem named An Organisation: In the Future. Then break through the boarded up window and follow the giant footprints to find The Jungle.

Take the opposite path to the one with the Troll, and drop down the ledge. There are poisonous plants down here, but you can block their toxic spores by throwing the Leviathan Axe at them. Deal with the Wulvers that await you and climb up the wall. As soon as you reach the top, you'll spot a dam on the horizon, which will begin Return of the River.

As you approach, the dam's entrance, you'll find some Gulons and a locked gate. Take care of the Gulons and then continue onwards, beyond the locked gate. You'll stumble upon some red vines, which you can destroy using a Sigil Arrow and the Blades of Chaos. Behind these is a lift you can take up to the dam. Be sure to grab the Crystalline Shards at the top. Then defeat the enemies and collect the Lore named Unforgiven. To your left, not far beyond the lift, is a glowing crack in the wall. Destroy it using the Draupnir Spear to create a small path through to the other side. Squeeze through the gap, immediately starting What Lies Below when you spot the Dreki. There are some enemies being controlled by a Nokken here, so make sure you take that out before you deal with the foes. Then speak to the spirit at the far end of the platform to start Casualty of War: The Stein.

Once you're done, head to the left of the wheel, and destroy the red vines with the Blades of Chaos. You'll need to create a chain of Sigil Arrows to destroy the next set of red vines, just off to the right. This will unjam the wheel, allowing you to open the dam.

At this point you can go and tackle What Lies Below if you like. Run to just beyond where the spirit is and use your Draupnir Spear to create a traversal point. Then cross to the other side, open the red chest for Hacksilver and Luminous Alloy, and drop down to the new land. Kick the gold chain down, and prepare yourself for battle against the Dreki. You'll have to deal with two, one with electrical properties, so take care of them and remember to collect the Dragon Teeth they drop.

With all that done, return the way you came, squeezing through the gap you created earlier, to complete Return of the River.

God of War Ragnarok: Return of the River Objectives

  • Ascend the dam
  • Flood the crater

God of War Ragnarok: Return of the River Rewards

  • Kratos: 500 XP
  • Freya: 125 XP

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